What Is the Trial-And-Error Process of Design Thinking

CogSci 2012 Sapporo, 3 August, Poster session 2-66,

What is the trial-and-error process of design thinking?

Dr. Hisataka Noguchi

0. Member’s abstract:

When we think about design creativity we should recollect the fundamental feature of the design thinking process as this:

(1) Design thinking is essentially included in general human productive works as a whole.

(2) Design thinking usually goes not straight to the goal but requires trial-and-error

processes in which repetitive divergent and convergent thinking are taken.

(3) For converging the trial-and-error to goal, designer needs “self-evaluations” in every

step of getting tentative solutions.

(4) Even though the collective thinking and discussions facilitate this process, creative

result can be carried out basically depend on each designer’s “self-evaluation”.

The author tried to make a model of trial-and-error process of design thinking in which one can see how the “self-evaluations” converge the process as a representation of designer’s internal world.

1. Introduction:

Proposing design thinking model as trial-and-error process of exploring functional relation of goal and means, and accenting importance of “self-evaluation” in converging

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the trial-and-error cycle into embodied solution.

 Design thinking process is composed of repeated thinking unit of exploring

functional relation of goal (g) and means (m) represented as “m=f(g)”.

 The trial-and-error process is graded realizing process of represented forms of the

“m=f(g)”.

 Driving force of converging it to a solution is designer’s evaluations in which

he/she judges the represented forms of “m=f(g)” can (creatively) stand for solution

or not.

 The represented form is common objective ground of sharing not only

collaborative evaluations with others but also for designer him/her self. So that,

even if it is represented by him/her self, it can sometimes expand the his/her

exploring space.

2. The Geneplore model may need modification:

On the Geneplore model (Fig.1), Finke, Ward and Smith said “In the generative phase, one constructs mental representations called preinventive structures. These structures have various emergent properties that are exploited for creative purposes in the exploratory phase. The resulting creative cognition can be focused or expanded according to task requirements or individual needs by modifying the preinventive structures and repeating the cycle” (Finke et al, 1996).

The author thought, it was not clear from this model that how one could reach to the goal as fulfilling requirements and/or needs, and how one could recognize it as

“creative”.

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The author tried to make clear this

problem in the concept of functional

relation of goal and means on the

represented platform of Vygotsky’s

human thinking unit model.

L. S. Vigotsky said, specific feature

of human behavior is using “tool” as represented medium (typical one is language) for making relations between subject and object, and they forms undividable unit (Fig.2).

3. Functional relation of goal and means:

On the Vigotsky’s basic model, the author tired to

propose functional relation model of human productive

thinking.

In making product, one has goal mind to be solved a

problem by using the product as a tool, and explores suitable functional relation of goal and means. This can be represented as:

Exploring m=f(g)

where:

m: objective means as a tool for problem solving

f: functional relation between means and goal

g: subjective goal or intention of designer

Design thinking is generated in the process of exploring this functional relation

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represented as a tool for solving problem situation.

4. Design thinking forms trial-and-error process of repeated basic thinking unit:

The designer’s exploration in the design thinking is trial-and-error process of finding and realizing the m=f(g). The represented m=f(g) can be various forms such as verbal expression, schematic form and idea sketch, etc in the trial-and-error process.

If designer can represent a possible functional relation m=f(g) as a tentative solution, then he/she can proceed to evaluation stage in which he/she verify the ‘m’ if it could meet sufficient condition (constraints) of the goal “g” or not. The author points out that this cycle is basic unit of design thinking (Fig.3). If it is failed to meet goal, he/she must go ahead to next trial-and-error cycle.

5. Evaluation is driving force of converging the trial-and-error process:

As mentioned above, the trial-and-error cycles are driven by evaluation stages, and the represented forms of functional relation gradually embodied by it. The embodied representation form of the functional relation is only objective ground for evaluations.

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In collaborative design work, a designer’s subjective goal and other’s goal can have a common evaluation ground only on the represented forms (Fig.4). Moreover, also for individual designer, his/her own representation of functional relation is only objective form for evaluating his/her inside thought. So that, sometimes, reverse direction thinking (from represented forms to designer’s goal mind) can expand exploring space and makes aware of new viewpoint of m=f(g). This is the reason why Finke et al asserted in their mental synthesis experiment that “Function follows form” against famous Functionalist’s these “Form follows function”

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6. Proposed design thinking model:

Then, under those concepts, the author proposes design thinking model (Fig.5) as a modified “Geneplore model”.

Designer’s subjective mind is physically a part of the objective world. Problem situation rises as a conflict between subjective world and objective world.

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Design thinking starts from representing the conflict as a “problem”. Then, designer has goal-seeking mind to solve it. After that, he/she can represent tentative functional relations of goal and means for solving problem in various forms. Usually, at first, those are language expression, and gradually go down to embodied form such as schematic drawings and idea sketches.

In repeated trial-and-error cycles, represented functional relation is gradually embodied in considering with constraints for realizing final solution via evaluation stages. The constraints can be divided into two types: one is “internal” that works at expression of representation form, and the other is “external” that works at the evaluation stage.

At the last stage, designer must fix the final representation form, which should be applied as a tool for solving problem situation actually.

After the problem solved, objective situation modified as a whole and it also makes

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change the designer’s mind.

References:

1) Creative cognition: R. A. Finke, T. B. Ward, S. M. Smith, MIT press, 1996.

2) 思考と言語 (Thinking and Language): L. S. Vygotsky, trans by Y. Shibata, Shin-

Dokusyo Sya, 2008.

3) H. Noguchi: Features of Creative Design Thinking Process from the Viewpoint of

Functional Relations between Subjective Intention and Objective development,

proc. of KICSS 2007 (5-7 Nov. at JAIST), pp.122-129.

4) H. Noguchi: On the Means-Goal Relations in the Design Process (in Japanese),

proc. of Design Symposium 2008 (21-22 Nov. at Keio Univ.), pp.25-30.

5) H. Noguchi: Intention and Creativity in Design (in Japanese), journal of the JSAI,

Vol.20, Nr.4, Jul. 2005, pp.379-386.